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April 4, 2013

New Hire Roundup: National Advisors Trust Names New CEO

FSI elects two new directors to board; more

This week in new hires, James Combs was named CEO of National Advisors Trust Co.; FSI elected two new board members, Northern Lights Distributors announced a new president and a new CEO, and Mercer named Derrick Capps head of consultant relations.

Also, U.S. Bank named four to its Private Client Reserve; Arjuna Capital, a sustainable wealth management platform, was launched; and the Hedge Fund Association established three new regional chapters.

National Advisors Trust Names Combs CEO

National Advisors Trust Co. (NATC) announced Monday the appointment of James Combs Jr. as CEO. One of his primary goals is building on the firm’s growth.

Prior to joining, Combs was chief operations officer for SEI Investment Manager Services. He has more than 20 years of experience in treasury, fiduciary, investment management and custody services, and previously held executive positions at Wilmington Trust Co., Wachovia Operational Services Corp., Global Processing Alliance and Bankers Trust Co.

FSI Elects Two New Directors to Board

The Financial Services Institute (FSI) announced the election of two new directors for its board. They are Derek Bruton, managing director and national sales manager of LPL Financial, and Seth Miller, president of Transamerica Financial Advisors. Bruton and Miller will replace Bill Dwyer, formerly of LPL Financial, and National Planning Holdings’ Jim Livingston, respectively. Dwyer and Livingston resigned from the board earlier, after making personal career changes that affected their eligibility to serve.

Bruton is responsible for business development and business consulting for all LPL Financial independent advisors and RIAs. Prior to joining LPL Financial, he spent several years in the financial services industry working at TD Ameritrade, Merrill Lynch and Charles Schwab.

Miller also has an extensive leadership background within the industry, having previously served in other leadership roles within Transamerica.

Nielsen had served as president, manager and principal of NLD since December 2005. As CEO, he will remain focused on the operational and compliance aspects of the business.

Wostoupal will continue to be executive vice president of sales and business development for NorthStar Financial Services Group, a holding company for several subsidiaries that manage and serve financial assets, including NLD. In his new role, he will lead NLD’s sales and marketing efforts, with sales and marketing personnel reporting directly to him.

NLD also recently appointed Jonathan Poyer and Michael Lambatsos sales and distribution managers; their team includes Kristin Klaus, an internal wholesaler who educates clients and independent advisors on the selling agreement and broker-dealer process.

Mercer Names Derrick Capps Head of Consultant Relations

Mercer announced Monday that Derrick Capps had been named head of consultant relations for its U.S. benefits administration business. In this role he will focus on relationships with third-party search consultants. He reports to Kerry Sain, senior partner and U.S. sales leader, outsourcing.

Capps has been with Mercer since 2009, first as an analyst for its retirement sales team and recently as the leader of the RFP response team. Prior to joining, he worked at Wachovia Bank for seven years, during which time he was a member of the consultant relations team and also managed a group of internal retirement administration sales associates.

U.S. Bank Names Four to Private Client Reserve

U.S. Bank announced four appointments to The Private Client Reserve, three in Minneapolis and one in Phoenix. The three Minneapolis appointments are Steve Kelleher, wealth management advisor; Sam Somuri, senior portfolio manager; and Jeff Schell, trust officer. In Phoenix, Tim Hoekstra was named wealth management advisor.

Kelleher, who brings more than 13 years of investment experience to his new position, was previously a senior vice president and private client manager for U.S. Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management, where he was responsible for the acquisition of new clients and the development of existing relationships. Prior to that, he worked at Citi Private Bank and in the leveraged finance group of Credit Suisse First Boston.

Somuri will develop and implement customized investment portfolios for high-net-worth individuals and institutions. With more than 20 years of financial services experience in investment management, sales, relationship management and marketing, he was most recently a director at Allianz Life Financial Services. Prior to that, he led asset manager selection, investment research and relationship management for the platform at Jackson National Life.

Schell will collaborate with HNW individuals, families and charitable organizations to provide trust administration services. He previously served as the personal trust relationship manager for U.S. Bancorp’s Private Client Group. Before that, he worked for Wells Fargo as a trust and estate administrator.

Hoekstra brings more than 21 years of experience in the financial industry. Before joining, he worked for JPMorgan as a vice president and business manager. He also served as an executive vice president and senior commercial banker with Sunrise Bank of Arizona (formerly Camelback Community Bank). Prior to that, he held positions with LaSalle Bank and Bank One/American National Bank, both in Chicago.

Arjuna Capital Launched

Adam Seitchik and Farnum Brown have joined with Marion, Mass.-based wealth manager Baldwin Brothers Inc. (BBI) to launch Arjuna Capital, a sustainable wealth management platform, with Seitchik as chief investment officer and Brown as chief strategist and senior portfolio manager. They will provide leadership to the sustainable wealth management platform along with Ellen Stone, senior portfolio manager, partner at BBI and founder of Highwater Global Fund, and Bill Marvel, a managing director at BBI.

Seitchik and Brown worked closely together in similar roles while at responsible investment specialist Trillium Asset Management. BBI's perspective on investment has evolved over the past 40 years to one deeply committed to sustainability. BBI senior partner Michael Baldwin founded the Marion Institute, a nonprofit incubator for projects focused on sustainability and social justice.

Brown founded Advent Advisors, one of the earliest socially responsible investment advisories in the country, in 1987, merging the business with Trillium in 1994. Seitchik is the former co-CEO and CIO at Trillium, chief global strategist at Deutsche Asset Management in London, a thought leader in the field of sustainable investing and the founder of the Sustainable Investment Research Center.

Arjuna’s mandate is to build the best performing, most forward-looking and high-impact sustainable investment platform in the business. Arjuna will partner with other investment strategies to bring sustainable investment opportunities to clients across the asset class spectrum, from stocks and bonds to community loan funds, green real estate and private equity.

The name Arjuna refers to the hero of the ancient epic poem, the Mahabharata. Arjuna was a revered leader, skilled archer, and a champion of enlightened engagement in society. The firm said, “Arjuna embodies the values we hope to bring to our efforts as investors: innovation and leadership within our disciplines, sharply honed investment skills, and an enlightened vision of the role of capital markets in promoting the common good.”

Hedge Fund Association Establishes Three New Regional Chapters

The Hedge Fund Association (HFA) on Tuesday announced it had appointed three regional directors to head its newly established chapters. Adriana Kostov will serve in Australia, Mark Feanny, M.D., in Texas and Ronnie Hale in Utah. These are all territories in which the HFA has not previously been represented, and the HFA plans to hold member networking events in Australia and Texas later in the year.

Kostov, with executive level experience in risk management, corporate development and compliance advisory in the financial services and family office sectors, currently holds the role of director of compliance and general counsel for Excalibur Funds Management, which is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.

Feanny, the co-founder of the National Healthcare Development Fund, LLC, is also active in a trend in U.S. health care, the freestanding emergency department.

Hale has extensive experience in fund management, mergers and acquisitions, asset trading, capital raising, risk and asset management and other key sectors. He is currently the portfolio manager of the National Healthcare Development Fund.

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